General Diaper Service, 1989

By:

The Columbus Dispatch - August 29, 2010 08:00 PM

RAMON OWENS / DISPATCH

The photo above shows Florence Hamilton of Columbus busily folding 1,000 diapers per hour at General Diaper Service, which was located at 691 Bank Road in Columbus. When this photo was taken in 1989, the New Jersey-based company had just launched a nationwide advertising campaign to promote its cloth diapers over disposables. When disposable diapers were introduced in the 1960s, sales for cloth diapers and cloth diaper services plummeted, and in 1989, disposables had cornered about 85% of the diaper market.

Today, cloth diapers are making a comeback. Made of mostly reusable and biodegradable materials, they appeal to both the environmentally and fiscally conscious. According to Consumer Reports, families can expect to pay $1,500-$2,000 for disposable diapers by the time a child is potty-trained, and in these tougher economic times, an increasing number are turning to cloth diapers as a more cost-effective option.

Diaper services like the one shown above are not as easily found as they once were. I saw only one local listing for this type of business that picks up soiled diapers and delivers freshly cleaned ones to the customer’s doorstep. Public perceptions regarding the impact on the environment of powerful chemicals and energy expenditure for commercial-grade washers and dryers has led the greener crowd to shy away. Likewise, the thrifty crowd is not very interested in shelling out $500-900 per year for something that they can do themselves for less.

Cloth diapers have certainly evolved from the safety-pinned piece of cloth that my own mother used for me and my siblings—many include waterproof covers, diaper inserts to increase absorbency and flushable liners. But despite these advances, the convenience of disposables is still winning out and they are currently the most popular option for both families and daycare centers.